Russia claims its deadly attack on Ukraine's Sumy targeted military
forces as condemnation grows
[April 15, 2025]
By LORNE COOK
BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia on Monday claimed its deadly missile attack on
Ukraine's Sumy that killed and wounded scores including children had
targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, while European leaders
condemned the attack as a war crime.
Ukrainian officials have said two ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday
morning hit the heart of Sumy, a city about 30 kilometers (20 miles)
from Ukraine's border with Russia, killing at least 34 people, including
two children, and wounding 119. It was the second large-scale attack to
claim civilian lives in Ukraine in just over a week.
Asked about the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's
military only strikes military targets. Russia's Defense Ministry said
the strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers and accused
Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the
city's center.
The ministry claimed to kill over 60 troops. Russia gave no evidence to
back its claims.
International condemnation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a global response
to the attack, saying the first strike hit university buildings and the
second exploded above street level.
“Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. We need tangible sanctions
against those sectors that finance the Russian killing machine,” he
wrote Monday on social media.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, whose country holds the European
Union’s rotating presidency, called the attacks “Russia’s mocking
answer” to Kyiv’s agreement to a ceasefire proposed by the United States
over a month ago.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen noted that the attack on Sumy
came shortly after President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in
Saint Petersburg for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It
demonstrates that “Russia shows full disregard for the peace process,
but also that Russia has zero regard for human life," Valtonen said.
“I hope that President Trump, the U.S. administration, see that the
leader of Russia is mocking their goodwill, and I hope the right
decisions are taken,” Sikorski told reporters in Luxembourg, where EU
foreign ministers met.
Lithuania’s foreign minister, Kestutis Budrys, echoed Ukraine's
assertion that the Russian strike used cluster munitions to target
civilians, calling it “a war crime by definition.” The Associated Press
has been unable to verify that claim.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the attack shows that
Putin has no intention of agreeing to a ceasefire, and called for the
European Union to "take the toughest sanctions against Russia to
suffocate its economy and prevent it from fueling its war effort."
The EU has imposed 16 rounds of sanctions on Russia and is working on a
17th, but the measures are getting harder to agree on because they also
impact European economies.
Germany’s chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz, described the Sumy
attack as “a serious war crime" during an appearance on ARD television.
Merz made clear he stands by his past calls to send Taurus long-range
cruise missiles to Ukraine, something that outgoing Chancellor Olaf
Scholz refused to do. He said the Ukrainian military needs to be able to
“get ahead of the situation" and that any delivery of long-range
missiles must be done in consultation with European partners.
Asked about Merz's statement, the Kremlin spokesman said such a move
would “inevitably lead only to further escalation of the situation
around Ukraine," telling reporters that “regrettably, European capitals
aren't inclined to search for ways to launch peace talks and are
inclined instead to keep provoking the continuation of the war."
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Smoke rises from an explosion following a Russian drone strike on
Sumy, Ukraine, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Relentless attacks
Russian forces this month have dropped 2,800 air bombs on Ukraine
and fired more than 1,400 strike drones and nearly 60 missiles of
various types.
The attack on Sumy followed a April 4 missile strike on Zelenskyy’s
hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed some 20 people, including nine
children.
Trump has previously described the strike on Sumy as a “mistake.” On
Monday, he said the mistake was allowing the war to start in the
first place, criticizing former President Joe Biden, Zelenskyy and
Putin.
“Biden could’ve stopped it and Zelenskyy could’ve stopped it and
Putin should’ve never started it,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“Everybody’s to blame.”
Late Sunday, Russian exploding drones attacked Odesa, injuring eight
people. Regional head Oleh Kiper said a medical facility was among
the buildings damaged.
Russia fired a total of 62 Shahed drones over Ukraine late Sunday
and early Monday, Ukraine's air force said, adding that 40 were
destroyed and 11 others jammed.
Chinese volunteers
Two Chinese nationals, who were captured by Ukrainian forces while
fighting on the Russian side, said at a news conference in Kyiv on
Monday that they had joined the war voluntarily after seeing
recruitment announcements on TikTok. They said they weren't
encouraged or supported by Chinese authorities, who had warned them
about the danger of participating in the conflict.
One of the men, speaking through an interpreter, said he did not
intend to take part directly in combat but was sent to the front
lines anyway. Another said that Russian recruiters abused his trust
and put him in what he described as a “trap.”
They said they were given orders through gestures and hand signals,
and Russian personnel constantly accompanied them, leaving no chance
for escape. Both said they hope to be included in a future prisoner
exchange and return to their families.
It was impossible for the AP to corroborate their statements or
independently verify under what circumstances the two men spoke.
When he first announced the capture of the Chinese nationals last
week, Zelensky said there were more than 150 other Chinese fighting
for Russia. Beijing responded that it always asks its citizens to
avoid participating in any military operations.
While China has provided strong diplomatic support for Russia since
it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it
is not believed to have knowingly provided Russia with troops,
weapons or military expertise.
U.S. officials have accused Iran of providing Russia with drones,
while American and South Korean officials say North Korea has sent
thousands of troops to help Russia on the battlefield.
___
Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington, Geir Moulson
in Berlin, Sam McNeil in Barcelona, Spain, Hanna Arhirova and Illia
Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia,
contributed to this report.
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